Almond Milk

I have a new toy to play with in the kitchen and it’s something I’ve been wanting for a long while… A super duper high-speed blender! I ordered the Optimum 9400 from Froothie on Monday night and it arrived today.

Now, I don’t know about you but when I get a new gadget in the house I MUST play with it NOW. There’s no time for shopping, nor for planning what I want to make first. I don’t care if I waste a few ingredients in my haste to press the ‘ON’ switch, I just want to make something.

Anyway, as I was frantically pouring through the cupboards to find something to pulverise, my eyes settled on a bag of whole almonds. In that split second, I knew exactly what I was going to make… Almond milk!

One of the reasons I’ve been wanting this blender for a while is it’s ability to make great lactose-free milk from nuts, oats, rice and soy beans. I’m mildly lactose intolerant, as I’m told most of the population are; I am not violently ill if I drink cow’s milk but if I have a whole glass I will get stomach cramps. Ick.

So, I chucked a cup of almonds in the blender along with 4 cups of water and blended on high for about a minute. A quick strain through the nut milk bag and I had some delicious, creamy almond milk. I’m sitting here with a glass now and I can’t tell you how much better it is than the cartons you can buy in the supermarket… It actually TASTES OF ALMONDS. Weird, huh?

To top it all off, it actually works out cheaper than the supermarket version… I got 1l of almond milk for around £1.25 if you price it using the Sainsbury’s whole almonds I used. I’m pretty sure you can buy almonds much cheaper than that too, making the milk cheaper still.

So; it’s fresher, cheaper, tastier and much more fun to make yourself… I don’t think I will ever buy almond milk again!

I will definitely be posting more in the coming days and weeks about other things I find this blender can do. I have big plans for this machine, and something tells me it’s not going to disappoint 🙂Check out my Pinterest board for more Shakes, Smoothies and Juices…

Making milk from nuts and seeds was one of the main reasons that I got an Optimum 9400 as well. So glad that I did – hard to believe how simple and quick it is!I do think that it's best to soak most nuts & seeds overnight first. That's for nutritional benefit, in the Optimum 9400 it isn't to make it easier to blend! So far I have tried the following : Almond – which you've already covered. Cashew milk – just scrumptious. Also, after straining it through the nut milk bag, put the remaining pulp into a bowl, stir in some vanilla and some maple syrup & you have a beautifully light "cashew cream" to use in place of whipped cream on desserts. Really good for vegans. Hazelnut milk – also wonderful. Quite a pronounced nutty flavour. Stronger than most others I've tried.Macadamia milk …I wanted to dive into it! Sesame Seed milk – I tried this because a naturopath friend suggested that I make it, mostly for the calcium. It was really good, another strong flavour & it can be a bit bitter (in the same way tahini is ) so I found it best mixed with Almond Milk. I still have many nuts and seeds to go. Brazil nuts, and pumpkin seeds are the next two, I think. Oh, almost forgot; Coconut milk. So simple and so good! Never use tinned agsin.

Hi Julie – I have made Coconut milk many times, from fresh and from shredded. It is so easy and so delicious.1 cup Shredded coconut, 3 cups of warm water, and blitz in the Optimum 9400. Strain through the nut milk bag, and enjoy! ( From fresh is almost the same, but first you must get the meat from a coconut, cut into reasonable sized chunks and blitz them. Then add hot or warm water etc. )I started making nut milks before I got my 9400, and I used to use recently boiled water and leave it cool to room temperature. Not necessary with the 9400, but I still like to use hot water and leave it to cool completely.